Rishabh Pant’s blistering counterattack yesterday capped a chaotic second day of the fifth and final Test between Australia and India, with 15 wickets falling and the star bowler of the series leaving the Sydney Cricket Ground with an ambulance escort.
Yet the Border-Gavaskar trophy still remains very much in the balance as India reached 141-6, holding a 145-run lead over Australia with three days remaining.
“Low-scoring games like this, it just heightens the pressure within it, so long way still to go,” Australia coach Andrew McDonald said. “There’s gonna be plenty of cricket, so we’ll see what happens.”
Photo: AFP
Australia were bowled out for 181, giving India a four-run lead on the first innings, and could not take advantage of India captain Jasprit Bumrah leaving the SCG for medical scans for back spasms. Bumrah later returned to the ground, but there was no confirmation on whether he would be able to bowl in the remainder of the Test — or bat in India’s second innings.
Beau Webster top-scored for the hosts with 57 and a wicket in a bright debut, while Steve Smith narrowly fell short of bringing up 10,000 career Test runs in front of his home crowd.
Pant then lit up the SCG with a swashbuckling 61 off 33 deliveries, with six fours and four sixes to leave the match evenly poised after the end of just the second day.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“If I was sitting at home and watching [Pant’s innings], I would have loved it and, and to be able to [watch] it from the ground, I mean there’s nothing like it,” Prasidh Krishna said. “I know it’s, it’s a lot of risk, but then that’s the way the game is played today.”
At stumps, Jadeja was 8 not out and Washington Sundar was unbeaten on 6.
Scott Boland (4-42) backed up his four wickets in India’s first innings with four more on yesterday.
Photo: AP
First, he bowled two near-unplayable deliveries to bowl opening pair K.L. Rahul (13) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (22).
Boland followed that up by yet again tempting Virat Kohli outside off stump, with the veteran guiding the ball straight to Smith at slip in what might be the 36-year-old Kohli’s final Test innings in Australia.
“Every time he plays, he does the job well,” McDonald said of Boland. “His ability just to be relentless on a length, move the ball both ways is, yeah, it’s proving difficult, in particular on the surface back over to the left.”
Webster (1-24) chalked up his first Test wicket, having Shubman Gill (13) caught behind.
Earlier, Australia conceded a four-run deficit as they were bowled out at tea.
Steve Smith (33) and Webster appeared to have stabilized the host’s innings after their top order was toppled in quick time by Bumrah (2-33) and Mohammad Siraj (3-51).
Australia lead the series 2-1 and must avoid defeat to regain the Border-Gavaskar trophy for the first time since 2014-2015.
A win by India and a drawn series at 2-2 would allow the visitors to retain the trophy for a record-extending fifth consecutive time.
A win for Australia at the SCG would book the team’s spot in a second straight World Test Championship final, with South Africa having already booked a place at Lord’s in June.
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